Conditions:Wonderland Canyon-20231024143221

Latest:	22 Oct 2023 (1 yr, 8 mos ago)

Reported by:	Ingalls (28 reports)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Deep pools
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Special challenges
Time:	7 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Beginner to Expert

Trip report URL:

Comments: Fantastic run through Wonderland. Water was shoulder deep in a couple of the pools. Expect to bring out all the natural anchor tricks on this one. We used sandtraps, dead-mans, rock cairns, chock-stones, meat anchors and more. Whoever had run this last did a fantastic job extending anchors enough to reduce/prevent grooving.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
19 Apr 2025	Great	Very Low	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	6 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Eddyl (76 reports)
Comment: Fun canyon! Approach took a solid two hours, no major routefinding issues. It had snowed and rained hard the day before, but pools were mostly half full, and some were dry. Used the sandtrap a few times. Solid deadman anchor for the big 200 foot rappel - we dug it up, inspected it, and then re-buried it. Not a difficult or physical canyon, if you are fine with natural anchors.
17 Oct 2024	Amazing	Very Low	None	Normal	4 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Kirbside (98 reports)
Comment: Amazing day in Wonderland Canyon! I had missed this canyon on my first few trips to Capitol Reef. It is fun and worth doing, especially if you are interested in ghosting and marginal anchor building. Similar to previous groups we found pools up to waist deep. The approach was beautiful and relatively straightforward. We followed the ropewiki track without major issues. We didn't have a sandtrap but we compensated using potshots as sandbag stacks as needed. We also downclimbed a few drops that others may have wanted a sandtrap on.
12 Oct 2024					8 hours	7 people Beginner to Advanced	Cheveran (92 reports)
Comment: Super fun!!! Lots of fun problem solving. Downclimbs, partner work, a few creative anchors, a semi-keeper. Great day. The ropewiki approach track was great, much better than the RTR track. We used sandtrap twice. Water was max of waist deep.
22 Oct 2023	Amazing	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	7 hours	4 people Beginner to Expert	Ingalls (28 reports)
Comment: Fantastic run through Wonderland. Water was shoulder deep in a couple of the pools. Expect to bring out all the natural anchor tricks on this one. We used sandtraps, dead-mans, rock cairns, chock-stones, meat anchors and more. Whoever had run this last did a fantastic job extending anchors enough to reduce/prevent grooving.
30 Sep 2023	Great	Very Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	4 people Advanced	Tcarlisle (77 reports)
Comment: - CONDITIONS Approach: Used the BluuGnome beta for the approach and descent. Many descriptions characterized this approach as sketchy, exposed, loose, steep, etc. In my opinion these descriptions are somewhat overblown. It is steep, there are loose rocks, and there is a small cliff band to climb up, but none of these were overly challenging or exposed. This is definitely in the realm of most canyoneer's ability. Water Exposure: There is water in the canyon and you will get wet. There is no avoiding all the water. Our first time through but we estimate it is 3/4 full. We carried wetsuits but only one person put theirs on. At the last anchor, which is just after the semi-keeper, wind was blowing up canyon chilling us after getting wet. This was the only place some of us would have liked a wetsuit but the canyon as all but done at that point so we didn't put them on. If temps are cooler, the water level higher, or you're going to spend any time in the water then you will want the wetsuit on. I would suggest suiting up at the first sign of water. Also I would suggest that this is a canyon to take a wetsut through, in all but the hottest days, just in case. Anchors & Rappels: All natural anchors. They are in decent to great shape after our descent. The first anchor we came to is built using a sandbag filled with sand and webbing around it instead of a rock. Half the group liked this and half didn’t. This is for a short 25ft drop. Ultimately we put new webbing on it, rebuilt it and it held well. We left the sandbag visible (but nature way change that) so others can inspect it and decide if they want to use it or construct a different anchor. (Sand bags--the flood prevention type, might possibly be the canyoneering equivalent of climbing bailout rings). The big 200 foot drop has a solid deadman built with a good sized rock that is buried. We put new webbing on this one too and rebuilt the anchor. It held great. Optionally the tuft of grass or a sandtrap would work here too. The second to last anchor--the 150 rap--is the cairn anchor in the little pothole. There are sufficient rocks for the anchor but not an over abundance. We rebuilt the anchor using the existing webbing and re-wrapped the main rock. This however left the webbing a bit short so that it doesn't reach over the edge as much as it should. It doesn't look like this will be that bad of a pull, but it is quite bad. I would suggest rebuilding it with longer webbing or fiddlesticking off the quicklink or both. The final anchor has webbing high up on a solution pocket. We fiddled this one and it worked great. Exit: The last rap drops you into the wash which you hike for about 5-10 minutes until you reach the highway. It is the shortest of exits you could ask for. STATS Group Size: 4 Skill Level: Advanced Total Time: 7 hours car to car Route: Used the BluuGnome beta for the approach and descent. Weather: Clear skies. High in the mid 70's and sunny. Low wind. Storm forecasted to come in later in the evening.
8 Oct 2022	Great	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	8 hours	8 people Intermediate to Expert	Mfeingol (52 reports)
Comment: Approach was not as bad as expected, but still not great, with some loose rock climbing and no defined trail. We used a sandtrap for the first required rappel, and existing marginal anchors for the rest. The grass anchor looks to have shrunk a bit, but still holds a load. It is currently backed up by a deadman which we did not excavate. The other two rappels had a cairn anchor in good condition and a solution pocket anchor up high for the final multi-stage rappel. The canyon was holding water, but not a massive amount. The semi-keeper's water level was fairly low, and it required a partner assist to get someone out to haul the rest. Nice rappels, great views, and a really pretty canyon, but perhaps too much squeeze for the juice.
4 Sep 2020	Good	Very Low	None	Normal	7 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Anhimal (12 reports)
Comment: The approach is sketchy. The water was cold and nasty. Lots of things probably died and decomposed in there. Some pools were crotch deep at most. We dug up all the anchors and they were in good shape. We had a meat anchor backup for all except for lapar. No water in the last rappels.
26 May 2019							Beerslot (17 reports)
Comment: Grunt, grunt, grunt your way up the loose approach followed by a navigational exercise up the headwall up to...more elevation gain. But this troll toll provides views galore near the entrance to the canyon - a bird's eye view of Capitol Gorge. One of the best canyoneering views I've ever had! You then pass some interesting geology as you drop into Wonderland. Again, this canyon had high potential but did not pack as much action as we had hoped. This canyon had some A+ scenery and some good rappels but was not very technical from my memory. One highlight/lowlight was when ES decided to end the day sending the last rap in his squirrel man-thong. And now I'm a furry. ST, ES, TT, JG, BK, BK's friend
9 Apr 2016	Good	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	4 people Intermediate to Expert	Tiffanie (139 reports)
Comment: A sand trap is recommended for this canyon but it is possible to run this canyon using deadman anchors. Rocks may need to be farmed from another areas as they may not be available at the top of the rappels. The large drop has been done with only a 200 ft rope but this requires a difficult downclimb/controlled slide into a pothole that may or may not have sufficient water. The entire canyon was dry or had very shallow wading.
23 Mar 2015 Trip report							CanyonCollective.com (83 reports)
Comment: Most recent conditions reported at CanyonCollective.com, see Trip Report for full details.